Hogwarts: Who uses a crowbar in wizard duels?

Nothing much happened for a while after that; the first competition wouldn't start for some time.

So everyone basically went about their business as usual.

When classes started on Monday, Professor McGonagall spoke to Kevin privately and asked him why he had missed the interview the day before.

Kevin lied and said he wasn't feeling well. Professor McGonagall saw through Kevin's lie immediately, but she didn't point it out.

During the second Defense Against the Dark Arts class, Professor Moody had Neville try to resist the Imperius Curse.

He kept provoking Neville with words, trying to get him to break free from the Imperius Curse.

However, perhaps because he mentioned Neville's parents, Neville seemed to recall some uncomfortable memories.

In the end, Hermione couldn't stand it anymore and stopped Moody.

After class, Moody asked Neville to stay behind, and the two spoke privately.

When Neville returned, he looked much better.

Neville also had a copy of the book "The Amazing Aquatic Plants of Highland Lakes," which he said was a compensation from Professor Moody, who knew of his talent in herbalism.

Kevin was also a little puzzled when he looked at the book.

The gill grass is also mentioned in this book. When he first watched the movie, he thought it was a foreshadowing by a fake Moody to get Neville to help Harry.

But now that I think about it, how could the fake Moody know about the second competition before the first one even started?

Or did the professors know in advance?

......

Before the match began, Harry wanted Kevin to give him a crash course in spells.

So during this time, besides attending classes, Kevin basically spent all his time teaching Harry various spells.

In the past, when Harry and Kevin were studying, they would study if they could, and if they couldn't, they would just leave it at that.

Now he has no choice but to study, and he's working much harder than before.

In a secluded corner by the Black Lake, Kevin and Harry were practicing spells, while Hermione sat quietly reading a book on a large rock not far away.

"Harry, concentrate, you're almost there."

Harry had been practicing for three hours and was feeling a bit unwell.

Harry shook his head, trying to clear his head.

He raised his wand, the tip turning slightly, and chanted, "Water Shield!"

A swirling stream of water quickly appeared at the tip of Harry's staff, eventually coalescing into a water shield.

This is the Water Shield Spell that Kevin created himself.

It's a pretty good defensive spell, especially effective against elemental attacks.

Especially for jet-type fire attacks like dragon breath, the water flow can directly guide the flames to the surroundings while simultaneously isolating them from the high temperature.

"It's a success!"

Harry saw the water shield complete and exclaimed in surprise, but before Harry and Kevin could say anything...

"Burning Flames!"

Once the water shield was fully formed, Kevin immediately launched a "normal" fire spell at Harry's water shield.

The blazing flames, like dragon's breath, shot straight at Harry's water shield.

Harry was so frightened that he instinctively covered his head, but the flames were firmly blocked by the water shield.

There was no sign of defeat whatsoever.

Harry tried to move left and right, and the water shield moved with him, staying close in front of him to block his path.

The flames lasted for a minute before dying down. When Kevin stopped, he saw that Harry's water shield was still there safely, and he nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, Harry, you've completely mastered this spell."

"Thank you, Kevin, but could you please remind me before you act next time...?"

Harry removed the water shield and complained to Kevin.

"The best way to test someone is to attack when they are off guard."

"..."

Harry felt a surge of relief; thankfully, he had succeeded this time, though he was badly burned...

"Let's rest for today. Tomorrow I'll teach you how to create thick smoke to confuse the enemy, make escape routes, and create chaos. These are all excellent options."

"Why didn't you just teach me that Hephaestus spell?" Harry was clearly more interested in Kevin's amazing fire control spell.

"You want to learn that move? Sure, but you have to learn the basic Flame Boom first. There are some similarities in the theory of these two spells, which is the control of flames."

Harry recalled the exploding fireball Kevin had shown him earlier, which shattered a huge rock, and felt a pang of shame.

You call that the basics?

"Then I'll learn how to make thick smoke first..."

Hermione came over, handed them two bottles of water, and said, "How about we go to Hogsmeade this Saturday to relax? It's not good to be so tense all the time."

Harry and Kevin exchanged a glance and nodded. They now had guardian signatures and could go whenever they wanted.

It would be nice to go and relax.

Just as the group was chatting, Ron finally arrived.

He said at noon that his brother Charlie had also come to Hogwarts. He didn't know why he was there, so he went to check it out.

Now that he's back, his expression is one of great anxiety and worry.

"Harry, Kevin, I know what the first project is! The school must be crazy!"

Ron had run all the way here, and as soon as he arrived, he was panting and shouting loudly.

"Ron, why don't you have some water first?"

Harry, not understanding why Ron was acting this way, quickly handed him the water.

However, Ron, holding Harry's shoulder, waved his hand and continued, "It's a dragon! The first competition is related to dragons!"

"The Ministry of Magic shipped four dragons from Romania, and my brother happened to be there researching dragons, so he helped with the transport."

"He knew you were chosen as warriors, and he told me secretly, asking me to meet him outside the Forbidden Forest."

"Then he took me into the Forbidden Forest, where there were four huge iron cages, and inside were four enormous fire dragons!"

"Those fire dragons are far more ferocious than Norbert!"

Ron told the group everything that had happened, and then took Harry's water and gulped it down.

Harry was stunned. The first match was going to be a battle against a dragon all by himself?

This thing can't be subdued without seven or eight people. Sending these junior wizards to it now is just feeding the dragon.

"Harry, don't worry, the school would never send students on any missions that are sure to kill them."

"Perhaps the fire dragon is just an obstacle in the project; we don't need to defeat it, but rather meet certain conditions."

Hermione saw that Harry was completely stunned, so she quickly shook his shoulder to encourage him to be more confident.

Even so, Harry was still very worried. Dragons were not to be trifled with; a single blast of fire could reduce a person to ashes.

"Kevin, I want to practice the billowing smoke technique right now..." Harry said with a sense of fearlessness.

He wasn't worried about Kevin at all. With Kevin's skills, he could probably hold his own against the fire dragon without using any spells, while with his small frame, the fire dragon could kill him with a single slap.

"On the bright side, you just learned a water shield move, so at least the dragon's breath won't affect you."

"The Ministry of Magic cannot allow a dragon to roam freely; there will definitely be some restrictions. In that case, the most likely attack method for the dragon is to breathe fire."

Kevin continued, and Harry thought it made sense; if it was just breathing fire, then it shouldn't be a big problem.

Kevin's next sentence made Harry lose confidence again: "At most, I'll just slap you a couple of times..."

Hermione pinched Kevin to stop discouraging Harry.

"There's still time. You can find a way to deal with the fire dragon. It's not invincible."

Hermione continued to comfort Harry.

"Yes, Harry, you can have Norbert do experiments to see which spells work on dragons."

Ron then offered an idea.

Harry's eyes lit up after hearing this, and he finally gained some confidence, nodding in agreement.

After that, the group returned to the castle. They had practiced long enough today, and they would go to Norber's place to practice again tomorrow.

Norbert, who was sleeping in Hagrid's cabin, shivered and looked around in confusion.

What's causing this sudden, ominous premonition...?